


Life Changing

by ScotlandEvander



Series: Various States [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-22 00:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/906599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScotlandEvander/pseuds/ScotlandEvander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On an ordinary Saturday evening, someone knocks on Steve's door and no one usually knocks as Steve tends to forget to lock his door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Changing

**Disclaimer: If you know it, I do not own it.**

* * *

_Waiting for a knock coming way too late / It seems an age since I’ve seen you / Countdown as the weeks trickle into days_   


_-Powderfinger, “My Happiness”_

* * *

Someone was knocking on the door. 

Why was someone knocking on the door? No one knocked because everyone knew Steve failed to lock his door ninety-five percent of the time. Had Steve actually remembered to lock his door? 

One look at the lock showed that Steve had stayed true to his horrible habit and the door was opened. 

Obviously, it wasn’t anyone who actually knew Steve on the other side. Also, the only person who regularly visited Steve at home was Clint and he never knocked. Clint simply burst into the apartment uninvited and yelled at Steve for not locking the door. 

Wondering who was knocking on his door on a Saturday night, Steve peered through the peep hole and almost fell backwards at the sight of Loki standing on the other side. 

Loki.

Loki was knocking on his door.

Steve ripped the door open. 

* * *

_I’ve walked a hundred miles in tobacco skin / And my clothes are worn and gritty / And I know ugliness / Now show me something pretty_   


_-Patrick Park, “Something Pretty”_

* * *

Loki was staring at the ugliest door. How could Steve live in this…place? It was dirty, small, a little crumbly, and smelled odd— a greasy, gritty kind of smell that made Loki’s nose itch. 

Loki was beginning to doubt if Steve lived here. Clint could have given him the incorrect address. Loki was about to storm off in a huff and ring Clint’s neck when the door flew open and revealed Steve Rogers, dressed in a fitted grey t-shirt and jeans. Loki slowly dragged his eyes upward to find Steve’s hair was in disarray, which only emphasized the smears of charcoal on his right cheek, left side of his nose, and near his left eye. 

The smile that spread across Loki’s face was one that was simply out of his control. 

“Steven.”

“Loki?” Steve asked, looking confused and a little shocked. “I thought you wouldn’t be back till…well, June or July.”

“Thor convinced Father my rehabilitation would be greatly aided if I had access to this psychology therapy he’s discovered offered on Midgard,” Loki stiffly reported, managing to control the eye twitch when he uttered the word _father_. “Is this your dwelling?”

Loki peered over Steve’s shoulder and into the main living area. The inside of Steve’s apartment was much nicer than the hallway Loki was currently standing within, yet not at all spacious. Loki thought that dwelling Jess had maintained on Other Earth had been small. Hers was a mansion compared to Steve’s apartment. 

“I live here, yes,” Steve admitted, raking a hand through his hair and leaving a dark streak where his fingers touched the blond hairs.

Loki smirked. “I do like your new sense of style.”

Steve stared down at himself, bemused. “Huh?”

“All the smudges and streaks of grey suit you.” 

Steve stared wide eyed at Loki before staring at his hands with a rather dumb look on his face. 

“Might I come in?”

“Oh! Sorry! Yes, please, come in. I’m sorry. Come in,” Steve stammered, stepping aside for Loki to enter. 

Loki stepped over the threshold. 

* * *

_And the world was back to front / There was sunshine in the evening / And the moon came out for lunch_   


_-Eliza Doolittle, “Back To Front”_

* * *

Steve had no idea what to do. 

Loki was here. 

Here. In Brooklyn. On Earth. 

Loki was in his apartment dressed in dark jeans, a deep forest green button down, and a leather jacket looking as if he’d breezed in from a fashion shoot, down to the fact he was holding a rather large Henri Bendel shopping bag.  

And Steve was covered in charcoal. It seemed to have gotten everywhere from the moment he stood up from the couch to when he opened the door. It was on his face, arms, hair, shirt, pants, and likely in places Steve hadn’t figured out yet. 

Smirking, Loki brushed passed Steve and into the living room. With a fluttering heart, Steve pushed the door shut and flipped the lock. It thunked into place and made his already beating out of control heart flop over and thunk out a rhythm. Steve was sure it meant he might be dying.

He had to be dead. He was seeing Loki. In his apartment. On a Saturday night in early March.  

Steve managed to turn around and watched Loki brushed his finger tips along the back of Steve’s second hand couch. 

“Why have you chosen to reside here as oppose within Stark’s tower? Not that I blame you for not wanting to be at Stark’s beck and call,” Loki drawled, rounding the couch, his long, pale fingers trailing over the worn material. 

“I wanted my own space,” Steve honestly replied, holding his charcoal stained hands awkwardly in front of him. “I wanted to be somewhere that felt…well, familiar.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow, pausing in his perusal of Steve’s living room. “Is it familiar?”

“Somewhat. More so than Manhattan. And a lot more than Stark’s tower.” 

Loki extended his head in agreement. 

“May I?” Loki politely inquired, waving his hand at the mess on the coffee table. Steve rubbed the back of his neck before he remembered his fingers were covered in charcoal. He let out a noise of annoyance.

“Be careful or you’ll end up looking like me,” Steve tried to joke, motioning to the fact he was streaked in shades of grey. 

“I would be so lucky,” Loki drawled, giving Steve a half smile that made his stomach flip over. 

* * *

_You’ve got this look I can’t describe / You make me feel like I’m alive / When everything else is au fait_   


_-Corinne Bailey Rae, “Like a Star”_

* * *

Steve turned a lovely shade of red, only accenting the smudges of charcoal all over his face. Steve made a strange noise and vanished through a door. The sound of running water filled the quiet apartment and Loki turned his attention back to the drawings that littered the table in the center of the living area. Steve was clearly working on these when Loki had dropped by unannounced. Loki took in each image, noting a few looked complete while many looked half done. 

“It’s a series,” Steve said, appearing at Loki’s shoulder. Loki glanced up to find Steve had washed his face and arms free of charcoal. He’d also put on fresh clothing and combed his hair. Loki felt a stab of dismay at the sight of spick-n-span Steve. He rather liked the dirty version. Steve met Loki’s gaze, immediately went pink, and said in a rush, “People in my neighborhood.”

Loki turned his attention to the sketches littering the table. “In everyday life?”

“Yeah. I…I don’t…I wanted to, uh, well, uh…I…well, uh…ran out…yeah,” Steve stumbled, looking bashful and rubbing the back of his neck. 

Loki quirked an eyebrow and set the shopping bag in his hand on the couch. “I have something for you.”

Steve lit up like the sunrise at the sight of the carved, wooden box Loki produced from the oversized shopping bag Stark had supplied him with. Loki extended it towards Steve saying, “Vör was quite animate I replenish your supplies, as she was sure you’d run out by now seeing it’s been three months.” 

Steve beamed, taking the box from Loki and gushing his thanks. Loki felt himself warm and his stomach coil in pleasure. 

“I’ll just, uh, put this over here,” Steve said, going over to a circular table surrounded by mismatched chairs. He set the box down on the table before looking between the new box and the old one. 

“Why does none of the furniture match?” Loki inquired, taking in the rest of the objects in the apartment. 

“Huh? Oh. I picked everything up at flea markets or second hand shops,” Steve said, deciding he’d combine the contents of the two boxes. “I never really had that whole…matching things growing up and…”

“You feel more comfortable,” Loki finished, watching Steve take the now empty box into the living area and stick it under the table containing the television. “It’s quite understandable.” 

There was something…homey about the mismatched objects littering the apartment. The more Loki was inside the apartment, the more it screamed STEVE loudly. 

Steve nodded, brushing his hands along his thighs as he stood up. He turned towards Loki and blushed upon finding Loki staring. Loki could not help it. It’d been three months since he’d last seen Steve, a live time since their lone kiss before Loki was locked within his prison. 

“There’s no need to be nervous, Steven,” Loki purred, moving around the coffee table. 

Steve let out a rather high pitched laugh as his cheeks pinked further. “Uh, huh.”

“Why are you nervous?”

Steve looked at Loki with wide eyes and swallowed. He looked away, running a hand through his hair, messing up the style he’d brushed it into earlier. Loki smiled a small, fond smile as he stopped a few feet from Steve.  

“Do you need a glass partition between us again?” Loki inquired.

“No!” Steve shouted, head snapping up. His blue, blue eyes bore into Loki, showing his indignation at the suggestion. 

Loki cocked his head to the side. “Then, what is it?”

Steve looked away, biting down on the inside of his cheek and rubbing the back of his neck. “I…well, I…you…we…I haven’t…I’m…”

“Unable to complete a sentence?” Loki offered sweetly, taking a few more steps towards Steve. “You are maddeningly adorable when you’re flustered.”

The statement made Steve even more ruffled. 

“Steven,” Loki said, lowering his voice. 

“I’ve never done this,” Steve blurted out, looking mortified. 

Loki was surprised. Steve, if possible, looked more horrified when he caught Loki’s reaction. 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I haven’t engaged in any relations in this century.”

Steve pinned Loki with a withering look. Loki put on an innocently confused expression.

“I might have forgotten how.”

Steve appeared doubtful. 

“You— how shall I say it? You knew what to do on Asgard,” Loki said, closing the distance that remained between them, standing nose to nose. Steve’s eyes widen, but he didn’t step back. Loki wet his lips, inwardly smirking when Steve’s eyes darted down.  

“You…I…uh…but…uh…” 

Steve’s eyes were stuck on Loki’s lips. Loki smirked, snaking his arm around Steve’s waist. Steve did a strange combination of tensing up and relaxing into Loki’s hold as he pulled Steve till they were pressed together.  

“You’re fine,” Loki assured. 

They stood breathing the same air, basking in the fact there was no glass standing between them. Loki could touch Steve, smell Steve, and taste Steve if he so wished. Loki’s fingers fluttered along Steve’s side till he found the hem of the t-shirt. His lithe fingers darted under, hitting warm, smooth skin. 

Steve’s breath hitched and Loki smiled. 

“You’re perfect,” Loki whispered, tracing Steve’s jaw line with his other hand before closing the small distance between their lips. 

* * *

_I’ve never been so lost / I’ve never felt so much at home / Please write my folks and throw away my keys_   


_-Something Corporate, “I Woke Up in a Car”_

* * *

“I wish to visit Jessica.”

Steve blinked. He rolled over and found himself faced with the God of Mischief. Said mischief maker smirked and tweaked Steve’s noise before standing and moving to the dresser. 

“Hi,” Steve dumbly said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Good morning.”

“You’re here.”

“I am here.”

“I thought I dreamed you here,” Steve admitted. “I’m not dreaming.”

“Oh, you might be,” Loki teased, throwing a small smile over his shoulder as he pawed through Steve’s clothing options in the drawers. “Where are your plaid shirts?”

Steve was pretty sure he was still dreaming, as why was Loki in his bedroom going through his dresser and asking where his plaid shirts were?

Loki pulled out a pair of khaki pants and stared at them for a moment before throwing them on the bed behind him. 

“Steven?”

“What are you doing?”

“Finding clothing,” Loki replied. “Ah, a closet. I thought you failed to have one.”

Steve blinked several times, then rubbed his eyes again. 

Loki was still there, going through his closet. 

* * *

_It’s nothing more than ordinary life / And I show you my sins / Show me all your scars / As we settle in / It’s written in the stars_   


_-Kristen Barry, “Ordinary Life”_

* * *

Loki emerged out of the bathroom, sporting borrowed clothing as he’d not brought any with him and didn’t feel wearing what he’d worn the night before. Steve was still in bed, looking shell shocked. Loki sat down next to the other man and ran his fingers through Steve’s mussed hair, smirking at the memories from last night when he’d buried his fingers in that soft hair and kissed the man senseless. 

“Do you plan to waste the morning in bed? Thor told me there is a diner near here that has excellent coffee. If you enjoy coffee,” Loki said. “I’m partial to tea, but Thor prefers Midgardian coffee.”

“I’ve been there,” Steve replied, blue eyes locking onto Loki. He sat up, the sheet pooling around his waist. Steve instinctively grabbed the sheet and held it up to his chin. “I took Thor there. He suggested the place to you? Wait, he knew you’d…he knows?”

Loki quirked his eyebrow. “Of course Thor knows. I am sure several other people know my intentions. Why are you hiding behind a sheet?”

“Uh…”  

Loki chuckled, grabbing the sheet and taking it out of Steve’s grip. “You’re fully clothed, Steven.”

“Oh, yeah. Uh…sorry about that.”

“You are sorry you are fully clothed?” Loki asked, staring at Steve in a manner he knew would cause the other man to turn very, very, very red. “I could remedy that.” 

Steve turned the anticipated shade of red and appeared as if he might pass out. Loki leaned forward, kissing the supple lips. Loki pulled back and allowed Steve to catch his breath. 

“I do not mind, as I told you last night,” Loki replied. “We have all the time in the world.” 

Steve’s eyes searched Loki before asking, “You sure?”

“Of course. We will move at your pace. Your pace might be best,” Loki assured, lightly kissing Steve again before standing. “Get dressed. I’m hungry.” 

* * *

_You’re something beautiful / A contradiction / I wanna play the game, I want the friction_   


_-Muse, “Time is Running Out”_

* * *

“You want to see Jess?”

“Yes. I was informed she would not appreciate me simply popping in for a visit,” Loki replied, looking up from the rather large pancake he was eating. 

“No. She’s…well, she’s keeping her location kind of on lock down,” Steve explained. “Somehow she’s hidden herself so Tony can’t find her.”

Steve was rather impressed, as he couldn’t even hid from Tony if he went off the grid. (Which for Steve, wasn’t that hard as he couldn’t even operate his cell phone and forgot it at home half the time. And yet, Tony was still able to track him down. Steve was actually surprised Tony hadn’t burst into the diner to do his daily Drill Steve For Jess’s Location.) 

“Hmmm. You and Clint are only privy to her location?” Loki queried, slicing the pancake into perfect bite size pieces. Steve had never witnessed anyone eat a pancake so…formally. There was a word for what this was, but Steve was having trouble thinking of it.

“Yeah. Clint found her somewhere in Alaska he won’t say exactly where. She texted me her new number, but never told me where exactly she is and Alaska’s a mighty big…er, state,” Steve said, snapping his attention away from Loki’s hands as he used the fork and knife. 

“So, do you beleive she would mind if I called her?” Loki asked.  

“Not, not at all,” Steve quickly said. “When, uh, did you get here?”

“About an hour before I arrived at your home,” Loki replied. “Thor and I landed in New Mexico, then flew via his hammer to New York and landed at Stark’s. Thor was rather anxious to see Stark for unknown reasons. Once I retrieved your location from Clint, as Thor’s directions were atrocious, I came to you.”

“Oh. Well, uh…wait, what was Clint doing at Tony’s?”

“I did not bother to find out,” Loki admitted, shrugging. 

“Oh, uh, well….er…” 

What was it about Loki’s hands that Steve found so damn distracting? He’d never felt so off kilter simply watching someone cut up a pancake. Loki glanced up and grinned, stuffing a bite of pancake into his mouth. 

“I have yet to get a mobile phone that works here,” Loki went on when he was finished chewing. “If I could bother you for yours?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Steve felt around in his pocket for his cell, but only found his wallet. “I left my phone at the apartment.”

“Of course you did,” Loki said, smiling at Steve fondly. Steve tried to return the smile, but sure it was more a rictus of embarrassment. 

“Uh, er, uh, where are you staying? Stark Tower?” Steve asked, ripping his napkin to bits. 

The brilliant beach glass eyes looked up from the plate and met Steve’s blue ones. “I would rather not. Thor has made it possible for me to have access to Midgard currency and SHEILD has allowed me a Midgardian identity in order to attend therapy. I plan on finding my own apartment whilst I’m here.”

“Your own apartment?”

“Of course. I’m not planning on going anywhere any time soon,” Loki replied, glancing back down at his plate and idly twirling his knife between his fingers. 

A silly smile found its way onto Steve’s face till he felt a leg hook around his own and pull him closer to the table. Loki slowly looked up, a sly smile appearing. He seemed to drink in the dazed, yet still happy, expression on Steve’s face before he spoke again. 

“Why go anywhere, when what I want is here?”

* * *

_My happiness is slowly creeping back / Now that you’re at home_   


_-Powderfinger, “My Happiness”_


End file.
